Adam R. Prescott

Adam is a trusted advisor for businesses and individuals navigating bankruptcy, insolvency, restructuring, and other complex legal challenges. His focus is on helping clients unlock the full value of their assets and reach their financial and personal objectives through creative, pragmatic, and results-driven advocacy.

Since joining Bernstein Shur, Adam has served as counsel in numerous Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases nationwide, including bankruptcy courts in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Ohio, Texas, and Delaware. Adam has extensive experience advocating for debtors, creditors, asset purchasers, landlords, vendors, and other stakeholders at every stage of Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 proceedings, with a particular focus on representing Chapter 11 debtors and other Chapter 11 fiduciaries. Adam also handles preference and fraudulent transfer litigation, non-dischargeability matters, claim objections, business litigation, mediations, and bankruptcy appeals with district courts, bankruptcy appellate panels, and circuit courts.

Beyond his client work, Adam is a thought leader in the restructuring field. He frequently writes and speaks on critical bankruptcy topics, with a focus on the Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) and subchapter V of Chapter 11. Adam has presented at high-profile events, including the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Annual Spring Meeting and Northeast Bankruptcy Conference, the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, the Maine Bar Association’s Summer Conference, and various other national panels and webinars. His insights have been featured in leading publications like the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, the Maine Bar Journal, and Law360.

Adam’s recent experience includes:

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Experience (National):

• Counsel to court-approved stalking horse bidder for dozens of fast-food franchises throughout the eastern United States, including successfully receiving significant payment for break-up fee and expense reimbursement at conclusion of sale (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio).
• Counsel to senior secured lender and stalking horse buyer in the successful section 363 asset purchase from one of the country’s largest makers of croissants and other baked foods (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware).
• Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 cases of interdisciplinary design firm, including unlocking substantial value by generating competitive section 363 sale (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware).
• Counsel to debtors that owned and operated municipal waste-to-energy facilitates in western Massachusetts, including successful section 363 sales and confirmed plan of liquidation (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of Massachusetts).
• Counsel to debtors and liquidating trustee in Chapter 11 cases of New Hampshire paper mills, including successful section 363 sale and confirmed plan of liquidation (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware).
• Counsel to Federally Qualified Health Center debtor in successful Chapter 11 restructuring with confirmed a plan of reorganization that provided millions of dollars of debt relief (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of Vermont).

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Experience (Maine):

• Counsel to Maine real estate development company in successful Chapter 11 reorganization of more than $20 million debt with nearly a dozen lenders U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine).
• Counsel to Maine sandwich company franchisees in Subchapter V restructuring (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine).
• Counsel to Maine manufacturing ESOP in successful going-concern, section 363 sale to strategic buyer, allowing for continuation of business and retention of all employees (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine).
• Counsel to Maine workers cooperative that owned and operated grocery and convenience stores in success senior debt refinancing and achieving significant debt reduction through confirmed Subchapter V plan (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine).
• Counsel to high-tech composite manufacturing companies in successfully obtaining debtor-in-possession financing and executing going-concern sale to strategic buyer (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine).
• Counsel to high-end Maine hotel owner in confirming plan of reorganization and restructuring senior debt (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine).
• Counsel to national pharmaceutical supplier as senior secured creditor in health care company’s Chapter 11 restructuring, including pre-filing litigation against debtor and guarantor and successful motion to dismiss debtor’s claims seeking to avoid client’s security interests under UCC (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine).
• Counsel to national equipment supplier as secured creditor in Chapter 11 case of dentist, including confirmation litigation (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine).

Out-of-Court Transactional and Litigation Matters:

• Counsel to bond representative and bond trustee in maximizing value for bondholders through competitive sale process in New Hampshire receivership of senior living facility.
• Counsel to Canadian and U.S. manufacturing companies in cross-border asset sales for multiple subsidiaries, forbearance negotiations with Canadian lenders, and winddown of business.
• Counsel to highly regarded Maine wine distributor in asset sale of distribution business to strategic buyer.
• Counsel to Maine cooperative grocery store in multi-million-dollar national capital campaign and matching debt financing transaction to fund store renovations.
• Counsel to Massachusetts cannabis company in successfully dismissing breach of contract claims in Massachusetts based on binding arbitration provision.

Prior to joining Bernstein Shur, Adam was:

• A senior associate at WilmerHale in Washington, D.C.
• A law clerk to the Honorable Rudolph Contreras at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
• A law school intern for the Honorable Jon D. Levy at the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Thought Leadership:

Speaker, Strafford Webinars (2021-2024)

“Subchapter V Strategies: Challenging Eligibility and Enforcing Disposable Income Requirements”, Strafford Live CLE Video Webinar (August 2024)

Speaker, NABT 2024 Conference (Subchapter V panel) (August 2024)

Maine State Bar Association Summer Conference (Chapter 11 panels) (June 2022 & June 2024)

“Untangling the Sub V Eligibility Criteria for Individual Debtors”, ABI Journal (October 2023)

“Anatomy of a Small-to-Middle-Market Restructuring in Today’s New World” ABI Northeast Conference (July 2023)

Witness, ABI Subchapter V Task Force (Subchapter V eligibility issues) (June 2023)

Speaker, National Subchapter V Webinar, MyLaw CLE“Subchapter V Landmines: What, Where and How to Deal with” ABI Spring Meeting (April 2022)

Speaker, Maine Federal District Court Conference (November 2022)

Speaker, ABI Northeast Conference (July 2021)

Co-Author, “Untangling the Subchapter V Eligibility Criteria for Individual Debtors,” ABI Journal (2023)

Co-Author, “Confirming Nonconsensual Plans in Subchapter V: Exploring the ‘Projected Disposable Income’ Requirement and What It Means (And Does Not Mean) For Small Business Debtors,” 32 No. 2 J. Bankr. L. & Prac. NL Art. 1 (June 2023)

Co-Author, “Balancing Act: How the Small Business Reorganization Act Facilitates Successful Reorganizations (And How Judicial ‘Re-balancing’ Could Affect that Success),” 31 No. 6 J. Bankr. L. & Prac. NL Art. 1 (January 2023)

Co-Author, “President Biden Signs Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act into Law,” ABI Journal (2022)

Co-Author, “Coverage Gap: Rethinking SBRA’s Exclusion of SARE Affiliates,” ABI Journal (2021) 

Co-Author, “Fixing Ch. 11 For Small Biz: The SBRA Is Working As Intended,” Law360 (2021)